Stacey Schmidt: A Great Example

Oct 28, 2009

After missing all of 2008 the sophomore has bounced back on the
court and continued to remain involved in the student-athlete
community off the court.

Stacey
Schmidt: A Great
Example

This week's Great Example is women's volleyball middle blocker
Stacey Schmidt. After receiving a medical redhirt 2008
because of a torn patella tendon, Schmidt has bounced back stronger
then ever. She is currently leading the Gauchos with a hitting
percentage of .366, ranking her second overall in the Big West
Conference.

Schmidt's hard work and determination are present on the
volleyball court as well as in the classroom. As a sophomore
majoring in business economics Schmidt was awarded Dean's Honors
for earning a GPA of 3.75 or higher.

An active member of the Gaucho student-athlete community,
Schmidt co-represents the women's volleyball team on the
Student-Athlete Advisory Board by relaying team input to the
committee addressing the student-athletes wellbeing. In addition to
providing the board a perspective from the women's volleyball team,
Schmidt has taken additional responsibility as an executive member
of SAAB in co-leading this year's community service efforts. The
2010 Gaucho community efforts include the annual Isla Vista Youth
Project's Adopt-A-Family during Christmas time and the Big West
Coin Drive during the month of February.

Schmidt took some time to answer a few questions about
herself.

1. What is your favorite aspect about going to UCSB?Living right next to the ocean is very relaxing.

2. What are your aspirations after college?After college I'm thinking about playing professionally in
Europe, after getting my master's degree in business
economics.

3. What is your favorite Gaucho women's volleyball moment?My favorite moment this year is when we beat UCI in the
greatest comeback I've every seen. In the fifth game we were down
8-2. During the time out Kathy (Gregory) just said "Leave it on the
court. Keep fighting." It was probably Kathy's advice telling us
not to worry about it and just go for it.

4. Is there any motto that you live by?ance as if no one is watching.

5. What do you most enjoy about having the Pacific Ocean right
outside your front door?I go to the beach, to layout or just watch the ocean.

6. What is your favorite part about being a Gaucho?When we get to chant Ole after we win!

7. What has been you favorite Stacebook story, so far?Probably the first story because I got to talk about our
summer training.

8. Do you have any pre-game rituals?My ritual is I take two Aleve and eat a granola bar before
every game.

9. Who is your biggest role model?My mom is my greatest role model because of all the stuff that
she has accomplished. She's a very smart business women, who
teaches accounting and finance at Cerritos College.

10. Where is your favorite place to study?In my room. It's quiet and familiar.

11. What has been your favorite class at UCSB?Comm 1, introduction to communication. It made me think about
taking that major, but I ended with business economics. The
professor was very funny and went in depth about things you
normally don't think about in situations.

12. What is it like playing for a legend, Kathy
Gregory, and what have you learned from her?She always pushes us to do our best and to always stay
competitive.

13. What has been the biggest challenge in college?Time management and balancing my energy.

14. After redshirting last season due to knee surgery, you have
now come back and are leading the Big West in hitting percentage,
how tough was the year off, and what did you do to get your self
back into playing form?Last year was really hard watching my teammates from the
bench, but I started going to physical therapy everyday and tried
to take as many extra reps as I could.

15. What type of player is Rebecca Saraceno, the only senior on your squad?Becca is the player every coach wants to coach and every
player wants to be. She always leaves her heart out there. She's
the one we all count on and look up to.

16. Who is the most inspiring teammate on the court?Dana (Vargas) is probably one of the best leaders on our team.
She always inspires us, always encourages us on the court and is
comforting to be around.

17. What is the most embarrassing moment in your volleyball
career?In high school I got hit in the face with a ball and my eye
got all swollen.

18. In one word how would you describe UCSB women's
volleyball?Legendary.

19. What advice would you give to incoming athletes interested
in playing volleyball at the Division 1 level?I would tell her first of all that she loves the school she's
going to play for and to be prepared for a lot of
sacrifices.

20. What three adjectives would you use to describe Stacey
Schmidt?Driven, hard working, and happy.